This proposal requests $10,000,000 in federal grant funds from the fiscal year 2024 cooperative endangeredspecies conservation fund (section 6 of the endangered species act) nontraditional habitat…

This $20,000,000 Project Grant award from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund (CFDA 15.615) supports the permanent protection of approximately 483 acres of critical habitat in the West Coyote Hills area of Orange County, California. The grant will be matched by $10,000,000 in non-federal funds from the state's Wildlife Conservation Board. The grant funds will contribute to the acquisition and conservation of ecologically significant lands that provide habitat for several federally endangered, threatened, and at-risk species, including the least Bell's vireo, coastal California gnatcatcher, and western spadefoot toad. This project is part of the county's Central and Coastal Natural Community Conservation Plan and Habitat Conservation Plan, which aims to comprehensively protect wildlife corridors and recover vulnerable species across the region.

This proposal requests $10,000,000 in federal grant funds from the fiscal year 2024 cooperative endangeredspecies conservation fund (section 6 of the endangered species act) nontraditional habitat conservation plan landacquisition grants program. The federal grant will be matched by non-federal funds totaling $10,000,000 (50.00PERCENT) of the total project cost by the wildlife conservation board (WCB). An additional $32,000,000 will beleveraged to purchase additional acres beyond funding proposed in this grant from the california state coastalconservancy and the SAN gabriel and lower LOS angeles rivers and mountains conservancy. This funding willcontribute toward the permanent protection of conservation lands up to about 483 acres that will complement thecounty of orange central and coastal natural community conservation plan habitat conservation plan (central coastal nccp HCP) in orange county, california. The purpose of the land acquisition proposal is to acquire and permanently protect highly developable butessential habitat on lands within the west coyote hills area. The west coyote hills is in imminent threat ofbeing developed in the near term. The proposed project is the acquisition and conservation of a portion of THE510-acre west coyote hills project site in the city of fullerton, in orange county, california. The targetedacquisition properties are ecologically significant within the central coastal nccp HCP reserve system andprovide habitat for a suite of covered species including the federally endangered least bells vireo (vireobellii pusillus), federally threatened coastal california gnatcatcher (polioptila californica californica gnatcatcher), and likely the at-risk species western spadefoot toad (spea hammondii- listing status incurrently under review). Three state species of special concern also present on the property that are covered inthe central coastal nccp HCP include the cactus wren (campylorhynchus brunneicapillus), sharp-shinned hawk(accipiter striatus), and coastal western whiptail lizard (aspidoscelis tigris stejnegeri). Other covered speciesthat contribute to the high ecological value of the site include intermediate mariposa lily (calochortus weediivar. Intermedius), southern california rufous-crowned sparrow (aimophila ruficeps canescens), red-shouldered hawk(buteo lineatus), gray FOX (urocyon cinereoargentus), and coyote (canis latrans). The entire site is designatedcritical habitat for the gnatcatcher because of its importance for supporting a core population of gnatcatchersand because juvenile gnatcatchers dispersing from the site provide genetic interchange with significantgnatcatcher populations conserved through the shell oil company metropolitan water district habitat conservationplan and the coyote hills east habitat conservation plan, and central coastal nccp HCP reserve systems.